One year after the historic launch of series production of electric trucks, MAN Truck & Bus is drawing a positive conclusion: around 1,300 heavy-series electric trucks have been manufactured at MAN’s Munich plant since then. The electric lion has thus become a firmly established part of the commercial vehicle manufacturer’s series production – and a central building block in MAN’s transformation towards locally emission-free freight transport.
One year of experience in mixed production
What began a year ago on the basis of an entirely new manufacturing approach has quickly established itself as a robust industrial concept: at the Munich headquarters plant, electric and diesel variants of the MAN TGS and TGX truck models continue to be produced in fully integrated mixed production on a single line. This flexible manufacturing process makes it possible to produce vehicles precisely in accordance with customer orders and market developments – regardless of the type of drivetrain.
The transformation is clearly visible at MAN’s Munich plant today. Current manufacturing capacity remains at around 100 trucks per day, irrespective of drivetrain. Production Board Member Michael Kobriger draws an interim conclusion: “The production of electric and diesel trucks on a single line has proven its worth in the first year of series production and offers MAN a high degree of flexibility with regard to demand, variant diversity and delivery capability. With our ambitious quality standards, we will continue to do everything in our power to support our customers on the road to the future.”
Whilst diesel trucks initially receive axles, tanks and exhaust systems, the electric models are fitted with their batteries and electrical components. More than 5,000 employees have been specifically qualified in high-voltage technology as part of this transformation. Axel Karnasch, Plant Manager Munich, says: “The parallel production of electric trucks and conventionally powered vehicles once again demonstrates the exceptional capabilities of the Munich plant. Precision, passion and excellence are lived practice here, always placing quality and the associated customer benefit at the forefront.”
With the further electrification of the portfolio and the planned launches of series production of the light and medium series at the Kraków plant later this year, MAN is clearly pressing ahead. The production team in Poland is currently making intensive preparations for the series manufacture of the first eTGL and eTGM vehicles. Series production of the 12-tonne MAN eTGL will commence there shortly. With the eTGM, MAN has already presented a further electric model in the 16-tonne segment, which will likewise be manufactured in Kraków and rounds off the electric truck product portfolio to cover 12 to 50 tonnes.
The Nuremberg plant, finally, has evolved from a pure engine site into a development and production location for both state-of-the-art diesel engines and alternative drivetrain concepts, following the establishment of MAN’s in-house battery production there. The bus plants were pioneers in this respect. The Starachowice site in Poland was the first MAN plant within the production network to be comprehensively prepared for the production of electric vehicles, with the launch of the MAN Lion’s City E city bus in 2020. The MAN Lion’s Explorer E has been built in Olifantsfontein for two years. Series production of electric city buses was recently extended to the Ankara plant, where the MAN Lion’s Coach E – the first fully electric coach from a European manufacturer – will also roll off the production line in future. Delivery of the first vehicles is planned for the end of this year.
The electric lion has arrived on the road
Alongside the stable production ramp-up, the market is also developing positively. The MAN electric truck is today in daily use with customers, covering a wide variety of applications – whether in distribution transport, automotive logistics as a low-liner, on construction sites, or in long-haul operations. The MAN electric truck can also be configured for municipal use or as a fire engine. Depending on the intended application, the truck can be configured in different ways. When fitted with seven batteries and a gross capacity of 623 kWh, ranges of up to 830 kilometres can be achieved without intermediate charging.
The battery packs developed and produced by MAN itself at the Nuremberg plant are a central success factor in the transformation. They enable tailored solutions for a wide variety of transport requirements and underline the technological depth of the MAN product portfolio.
Electrification as the key to MAN’s decarbonisation
Around 95 per cent of MAN’s total greenhouse gas emissions arise during the use phase of vehicles sold by MAN (Scope 3, Category 11). The electrification of the MAN vehicle portfolio is therefore crucial to achieving the company’s climate targets. With the launch of series production of the battery-electric MAN eTGX and MAN eTGS trucks at the Munich site, MAN has completed the transition from testing to scaling.
After one year of series production, it is clear: the electric truck is no longer a pilot project, but an industrial series product of growing importance for customers, markets, and the reduction of MAN’s emissions throughout the use phase.
A further lever is the decarbonisation of MAN’s own transport processes: the company is advancing the gradual electrification of its inbound logistics and, in 2025, carried out corresponding tenders for the deployment of battery-electric trucks covering up to 165 million kilometres per year within the MAN logistics network. Series operation has been under way since the beginning of this year.
